New York Invests in Green-Collar Jobs : Apollo Alliance
Gov. David Paterson signed the Green Jobs/Green New York Act of 2009 into law. The product of active collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders,
Green Jobs/Green New York sets a goal of retrofitting a million homes across the state, and establishes a revolving loan fund, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), to cover up-front costs of residential and commercial energy efficiency improvements. The bill encourages NYSERDA and the Public Service Commission to establish a mechanism to allow loan repayment over a number of years through an added charge on homeowners’ utility bills, but since it does not specifically mandate “on-bill recovery,” this will be the subject of additional legislation. The loan fund will be supported by an initial $112 million in proceeds from a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) auction. An additional $2-4 million in auction proceeds will go toward job training in weatherization.
The bill is the product of two years of work by a coalition of multiple stakeholders, led by the Center for Working families (CWF) and the WFP, with active engagement by the Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA), the New York Apollo Alliance, and many others. The coalition worked in cooperation with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who authored the bill and carried it through unanimous passage in the Assembly.
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